As the MLB Division Series’ wrapped up last night, I was really happy to have seen so much exciting baseball in the first round. For the first time ever, all the match-ups went to 5 games…doesn’t get better than being winner take all. While some may say that the baseball season is too long, I find it fascinating that when 162 games are played, every one eventually counts and we saw multiple divisions come down to that final game to be decided. Then, the drama really starts! So, here are my thoughts on the what’s happened so far and what to expect in the next round:

Wildcard Games: Let’s be honest, did anyone really expect St Louis to lose after their crazy post-season run last year? I was hoping that the Braves would win and see Chipper Jones keep playing, but that wasn’t in the “Cards.” I was enraged by the horrible Infield Fly call, but it’s part of the human element that can make things ugly and adds to my frustration with MLB’s refusal to somehow make things right when an ump really messes up. On the AL side, Baltimore has been a great story this year. Texas has been faltering since the beginning of September. They never should have lost the division to the A’s (another fun story) when they are the best team on paper both for pitching and hitting. By October, they looked like they had given up on the season, which totally falls on management. However, I was not surprised to see them lose in the WC game since their ugly fall from grace. Props however to the O’s for coming to Texas and playing like they wanted to be in the postseason.

Tigers/Athletics: I was so excited to see my Tigers make the post-season again, but a little nervous about going up against Oakland. My only hope was that they used up so much energy to win their division that they wouldn’t have enough gas in the tank by the time they got to Detroit. It sure looked like that at first, but the Tigers bats were pretty quiet. Game 4 in Oakland looked like it could be a series changer when the A’s came back to win in the 9th. Luckily for me, we had the best pitcher in baseball going in game 5 and Verlander pitched a gem in his complete game shut out. I was pleased to hear how great our team was to Oakland when their season ended and also very impressed at the season “Moneyball 2” had.

Giants/Reds: I thought the Giants would win this one no problem. Then the Reds went to San Fran and were up 2-0 when they left. Although the injury the Cueto didn’t help, Cinci just couldn’t get it together at home. Once they lost a close game 3, the series was eventually over. A sad fact that stood true here: Dusty Baker has played 10 games with a chance to close out a postseason series since 2002 World Series Game 6 and his teams are 1-9 in those potential clinchers.

Yankees/Orioles: This may have been the series I was most excited about as the teams were 9-9 in their regular season meetings, with the O’s getting the edge in later season games. You can’t ever count NY out and Baltimore had this look of a team of destiny with their perfect extra-inning record and after that win over the Rangers. The series didn’t disappoint for excitement with 2 “overtime” games, A-Rod drama, and big walk-offs. In the end, I was sad to see the O’s run out of luck but commend them on making it much farther than anyone expected.

Nationals/Cardinals: I was never a big fan of the Nationals this season, partially due to all the over-coverage about Strasburg’s pitch count, etc – which has continued through today. My husband thinks that St Louis has a horseshoe in a very fortunate place, and this series makes it hard to argue that. In some ways, Washington was lucky to push this to 4 games after the walk-off homer by Werth….but I’m guessing most their fans don’t feel so lucky that there was a game 5 after what they endured last night. Although I don’t like the Cards, I was very impressed with their resilience when they went down early and couldn’t believe how many quality at bats they got in the 9th. I wish my team had that kind of patience at the plate and it totally paid off for them – even if there was a little luck there too. They have now won 6 straight post-season elimination games…crazy!

As the ALCS begins tonight, my heart wants the Yankees to lose (no matter who they play). The Tigers have knocked NY out of the post-season the last two times they’ve met (2006 and 2011) and I really hope they can do it again. Both teams had the misfortune of having to use their ace to win game 5, but I think Detroit has the pitching edge since their 2-4 are stronger. Both teams like to play long ball and their hitters have been very inconsistent all season. Although NY won the regular season series 6-4, I’m predicting the Tigers win the series in 6 games and it all starts with Fister having a solid outing tonight.

When the NLCS starts tomorrow, we will see a couple of usual suspects. The Giants are stronger with their starting pitching, but the Cardinals seem to have guys who struggle (or you’ve never heard of) step up in big ways once the postseason begins. The teams split their regular season meetings and I have a feeling this series will go 7. In the end, the Giants will have someone other than Buster and Pablo step up and get back to the World Series.

When the Tigers and Giants get ready to face off in the World Series, I’ll be back with more analysis and predictions…